Customers, execs not seeing eye-to-eye on AI-powered customer service: survey

A new report suggests there is a widening gap between consumers’ expectations for customer service in the era of artificial intelligence, and the solutions being delivered by companies.

The survey, commissioned by software company ServiceNow in partnership with research firm ThoughtLab, says Canadian customers are frustrated by issues such as a lack of empathy, having to repeatedly outline their problem and being transferred between departments.

Meanwhile, 85 per cent said they prefer to receive support from a human over the phone when dealing with complex issues, despite only one-in-10 executives indicating they plan to prioritize phone support over the next three years.

The research was collected from an online poll of 1,350 customers and 300 service representatives, along with computer-assisted phone interviews of 195 executives in Canada, between September and October 2025. It suggests organizations must find a balance between human support and technological advancements as the shift toward AI solutions continues to ramp up.

“Absolutely there’s a gap that’s growing, but I will say that I think (companies) are very, very aware and are looking to close that gap,” said Cristin Gooderham, ServiceNow’s area vice-president of Canada enterprise.

“What we’ve found is that AI is getting leveraged all over the place, which is fantastic. AI is really improving things from a speed point of view, but the Canadian consumer really wants an empathetic response when they’re dealing with really complex challenges.”

Customers surveyed did indicate a preference toward automated support in certain situations. For instance, many respondents said they want self-service first before speaking to a human representative for problems deemed more simple to resolve.

“If you think about the explosion of chatbots that happened over the last decade, when you have a really, really simple question as a consumer, you’re definitely OK with leveraging self-service for that,” said Gooderham in a phone interview.

“As soon as a really complex issue pops up, customers want to talk to a human.”

Still, only one-in-ten customers rated overall service quality they’ve received over the past 12 months as “great” and a little less than half regarded it as “good,” according to the survey.

Around 59 per cent of customers cited a lack of empathy or understanding of their concern as their top frustration when dealing with customer service overall.

That stands in contrast to findings amongst executives surveyed, with just one-quarter of that group saying they believe customers were disheartened by a lack of empathy or understanding.

Other data also point to a widening divergence between customers and executives surrounding perceptions of customer service quality.

Half of customers surveyed said being transferred to multiple departments was a source of frustration, compared with just 27 per cent of executives who thought it was an issue for their customers. Additionally, 46 per cent of customers complained about unclear explanations regarding processes and policies, compared with just 12 per cent of executives who said the same.

Around 44 per cent of customers indicated they were irked by the need to repeat issues to agents or re-enter data, compared with 15 per cent of executives who thought that was a challenge for customers.

The report said companies getting it wrong on customer service could face costly consequences, especially in the era of AI.

Some executives reported already high customer turnover from poor customer service experiences, while few organizations said they’ve seen meaningful AI progress in building emotional connections with customers. 

“It’s a delicate balance between the speed and the empathy, but if we don’t keep humans at the centre of those interactions, that’s going to cause tremendous customer churn,” said Gooderham.

“We hear this from executives. They’re well-aware that if they do not build strong brand loyalty, and really that comes from providing an excellent customer experience, they’re going to lose customers.”

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.